WorldPride DC 2025 Announces 19 Recipients of the Community Grant Program, Awarding $500,000 to Fuel LGBTQ+ Innovation and Impact
Washington, DC (April 30, 2025)—The Capital Pride Alliance and WorldPride DC 2025 are thrilled to announce the 19 recipients of the WorldPride DC 2025 Community Grant Program. A total of $500,000 has been awarded to organizations and individuals whose work advances equity, visibility, and celebration within the local and global LGBTQ+ community.
This milestone investment in LGBTQ+ excellence comes in response to more than 200 grant applications, collectively requesting over $6.4 million in funding. The volume and scope of submissions reflect a powerful testament to the creativity, urgency, and resilience of LGBTQ+ leaders, artists, and activists worldwide.
“We were overwhelmed by the incredible ideas and urgent needs shared through the application process,” said June Crenshaw, Deputy Director of Capital Pride Alliance. “Choosing these 19 recipients was an unbelievably difficult task—but we are honored to support these powerful projects that reflect the heart of WorldPride: diverse community, culture, and advocacy.”
“The selection process was deeply informed by the thoughtful input of 20 dedicated community peer reviewers, who volunteered their time to evaluate applications with care, integrity, and lived experience. Their invaluable feedback ensured that community voice and perspective were central to the funding decisions. We are especially grateful for their commitment to equity and grassroots engagement.” Said Japer Bowles, Director of Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
Among this year’s recipients are projects that reflect a vibrant range of identities, geographies, and visions for the future:
Food Rescue from WorldPride: Reducing Waste and Feeding the Community will serve as the official food waste prevention partner of WorldPride DC 2025. This initiative will recover surplus food from WorldPride events and redirect it to LGBTQ+ individuals facing food insecurity—helping both people and the planet.
Transgender Remembrance Memorial Flag Display will create a deeply moving, immersive memorial to honor transgender individuals lost to violence. As a visual anchor of WorldPride, this project embodies remembrance, resilience, and justice.
Deaf, DeafBlind, Deaf Disabled & Hard of Hearing Celebration will present 12 culturally rich events during WorldPride that center Deaf culture and accessibility, ensuring that LGBTQ+ Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities are visible, valued, and celebrated.
Weaving Resistance: Storytelling with Saris will lead five arts-based workshops exploring identity, gender, and migration through poetry and textiles. In a time of political attacks and cultural erasure, this space will foster healing, expression, and radical pride.
These projects—alongside 15 others listed in the attached summary—showcase the depth of LGBTQ+ brilliance and community care. From mutual aid to multimedia storytelling, the 2025 WorldPride Community Grant recipients are poised to shape a WorldPride that is as inclusive as it is inspiring.
In addition, Capital Pride Alliance made a historic $670,000 investment in the Diversity of Prides initiative. This initiative directly supports cornerstone events celebrating the full spectrum of LGBTQ+ identities, including Black Pride, Trans Pride, Latinx Pride, AAPI Pride, Youth Pride, Silver Pride, Women’s Pride, and Military Pride. These community-driven celebrations are vital platforms for visibility, connection, and cultural pride—and, together with the WorldPride Community Grants, reflect Capital Pride Alliance’s mission to uplift every part of our community.
The WorldPride Community Grant Program and the Diversity of Pride Initiative is made possible through the generous support of our donors and key partners, including the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, whose steadfast commitment to equity and inclusion fuels these transformative investments.
Funding Request Name & Applying Organization
Rainbow Road - Adams Morgan Partnership Business Improvement District
Decolonized Beatz Indigenous World Pride 2025 - Crushing Colonialism
"WorldPride 2025: Deaf, DeafBlind, Deaf Disabled & Hard of Hearing Celebration" - DC Association of the Deaf
World Pride Literary Programming - DC Public Library Foundation
"Memory Box, Pride Edition: Keeping Our Pride Alive." - Dia De Los Muertos DC
Dupont Underground - Dupont Underground
Drag Beyond Borders: Queer Culture is African Culture - Equal Namibia
Food Rescue from WorldPride: Reducing Waste and Feeding the Community - Food Rescue US
Elevate: The Ultimate Black Pride Kickoff - Gbelawoe (Joshua) Household
Ga’ava: World Pride at the EDCJCC - GLBTQ Outreach & Engagement at the Edlavitch DCJCC
Transgender Remembrance Memorial Flag Display - Glitter Foundation Utah
World Pride Exchange DC Program - May 30 - June 1 - Global Fashion Exchange
Take Me Home: A Journey through DC's Queer Places + Sounds of the 80s & 90s - Gran Varones
Weaving Resistance: Storytelling with Saris - Jahan Bose (Monica) Household
Pride is a Protest Street Fair at Bryant Street Featuring Metrobar - MetroBar
Over the Rainbow Fashion Show Celebrating The Fabric of Freedom - RGP
Gay for #DCTheatre - Theatre Washington
Washington Improv Theater Spotlights DC-Based Comedic Talent - Washington Improvisational Theater Co.
Colors of Pride - Wunder Garten/Proust Partners LLC
About The Capital Pride Alliance
The Capital Pride Alliance (CPA), located in Washington, DC, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of the LGBTQ+ community all year long, through educational programs, major events, fundraising, outreach and advocacy, providing platforms for visibility, and supporting the work of our many community organizations and local businesses.
About WorldPride DC 2025
WorldPride DC 2025, hosted by the Capital Pride Alliance, will take place in the heart of the nation’s capital from May 17 to June 8, 2025. The global celebration will feature two weeks of parades, festivals, marches, exhibits, and cultural programming. For more information, visit www.worldpridedc2025.org.
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